Restaurants Where You Cook Your Own Food | DIY Concepts
Imagine dining out but with a twist. Instead of sitting back and waiting for your order to be served, you take the reins in cooking your food right at your table. While not entirely new, this concept has gained substantial traction in the United States over the years. The appeal lies not only in the culinary experience but also in the unique interactions and the unmatched freshness of seeing your food cooked right before your eyes. In this blog post, we explore a variety of restaurants across the U.S. where you cook your food. From tantalizing Korean BBQ and Japanese Shabu-Shabu to mouth-watering Fondue and Churrascaria, you’re about to embark on a culinary adventure that puts you in the chef’s seat.
Korean BBQ Restaurants
Korean BBQ restaurants are the most recognized places when discussing cook-your-own-food experiences. The essence of a Korean BBQ meal is the gathering around a grill embedded in the center of the table, sizzling with a variety of marinated meats like bulgogi (thinly sliced, marinated beef) and samgyeopsal (pork belly) and a plethora of side dishes known as ‘banchan.’
One of the top Korean BBQ restaurants in the U.S. is Kang Ho-dong Baekjeong, located in New York, Los Angeles, and many other major cities. Known for its lively atmosphere and high-quality meats, this restaurant gives you a full hands-on experience.
Another must-visit Korean BBQ spot is Gen Korean BBQ House, a chain located mainly in California and Texas. Their all-you-can-eat model lets you try a wide range of meats, from the classic bulgogi to more adventurous options like a spicy baby octopus.
In the heart of Chicago, you’ll find San Soo Korean BBQ, offering a blend of traditional Korean recipes and premium quality meats that you grill at your table. It’s a hotspot for food lovers who enjoy the vibrant, interactive DIY dining scene.
These restaurants offer an authentic Korean BBQ experience right in the U.S., allowing patrons to enjoy the flavorful delicacies and engage in the exciting process of cooking their own meals.
Japanese Teppanyaki and Shabu-Shabu Restaurants
Japanese cuisine brings two fun-filled, cook-it-yourself concepts to the table – Teppanyaki and Shabu-Shabu.
Teppanyaki refers to the style of cooking where ingredients are grilled on a large iron griddle right before your eyes. Benihana, a chain spread across the U.S., is among the most popular Teppanyaki restaurants. There, chefs cook your food perfectly and perform various tricks with their knives and spatulas, turning your meal into an entertaining show.
On the other hand, Shabu-Shabu is a Japanese hotpot dish where diners cook their own thinly sliced meat and vegetables in a pot of boiling broth. At Shabu & Mein in Cambridge, Massachusetts, you can enjoy this unique, hands-on dining experience. You select from various ingredients, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, and fresh vegetables, and cook them to your liking in the broth of your choice.
In the heart of New York City, you will find 99 Favor Taste, a Shabu-Shabu restaurant known for its all-you-can-eat menu. You can cook various meats, seafood, and vegetables at your own pace and finish the meal with some hot pot-style dessert.
These Japanese dining experiences let you enjoy the end product and the process of preparing your meal, offering a unique insight into Japanese culinary culture right at your table.
Fondue Restaurants
Originally from Switzerland, fondue is a delightful and interactive dining experience that involves dipping food into a melted cheese or chocolate pot. This communal dish is perfect for date nights, family dinners, or friend gatherings.
A popular chain of fondue restaurants across the U.S. is The Melting Pot. They offer various fondue options, including traditional Swiss cheese, bourguignon, where you cook meat and vegetables in hot oil, and chocolate fondues for dessert. Each course is a DIY experience that encourages interaction and conversation.
Another must-visit fondue restaurant is Geja’s Cafe in Chicago, Illinois. Geja’s Cafe is a romantic fondue dining spot with an extensive menu featuring cheese, chocolate fondue, and a ‘Premiere Fondue Dinner’ with shrimp, beef, and chicken for you to cook at your table.
In San Francisco, California, you’ll find Fondue Cowboy, a unique, Western-themed fondue restaurant. They offer a range of cheese fondues, including the ‘Outlaw,’ their take on the traditional Swiss fondue, and the ‘Brokeback,’ a blend of three kinds of cheese with beer and bourbon.
These fondue restaurants bring a fun and interactive dimension to dining, allowing you to dive into the flavorful world of fondue.
Mongolian BBQ and Hot Pot Restaurants
Mongolian BBQ and Hot Pot restaurants are another fantastic segment of DIY cooking that offers a blend of excitement, interaction, and gastronomic delight.
Mongolian BBQ, despite its name, is neither Mongolian nor barbecue. It’s a style of stir-frying assorted meats, vegetables, and sauces on a large, circular griddle. Genghis Grill, a chain with locations all over the U.S., lets diners choose from a buffet of raw ingredients and hand over their selections to a chef who cooks them right in front of them.
Another popular Mongolian BBQ spot is Khan’s Mongolian Grill in Richfield, Minnesota. Their “Fill it up, Pile it high” motto encourages guests to load their bowls with various meats, noodles, vegetables, and sauces, which the chefs then flash-fry on a large, circular griddle.
On the other hand, Hot Pot (also known as Steamboat) is an East Asian variety of stew where you cook your chosen ingredients in a simmering pot of soup stock at the center of the dining table. Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, a global chain with multiple locations in the U.S., is a popular destination for Hot Pot enthusiasts. It offers a variety of broth flavors, including its signature ‘Original White’ and ‘Spicy Red Soup,’ along with a wide array of meat, seafood, vegetables, and noodles for you to cook.
Whether it’s the high-energy cooking of Mongolian BBQ or the slow, communal dining experience of Hot Pot, these DIY restaurants allow you to cook and enjoy food at your own pace while exploring diverse flavors.
Brazilian Churrascaria Restaurants
Brazilian Churrascaria (Barbecue) restaurants offer a unique and interactive dining experience known as ‘rodízio.’ This all-you-can-eat restaurant service lets you enjoy various cuts of grilled meats, brought to your table and carved right on your plate by ‘gauchos’ or ‘passados’ (meat waiters). Although you don’t technically cook the meat yourself, it’s still an immersive and interactive dining experience where you control the pace and quantity of your meal.
Fogo de Chão is one of the most renowned Brazilian Churrascaria chains in the U.S., Offering a wide array of expertly grilled meats and a gourmet market table featuring salads, fresh vegetables, and side dishes. It’s a carnivore’s paradise.
Texas de Brazil, another popular Churrascaria chain, blends the flavors of Brazil with the generous spirit of Texas. Their rodízio style dining lets you sample an array of slow-roasted meats, seasoned to perfection and carved at your table.
Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse, located in Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, and Atlanta, is another noteworthy spot. It offers a variety of sumptuous flame-grilled meats, a salad bar, and traditional Brazilian sides.
These Brazilian Churrascaria restaurants let you indulge in Brazil’s rich, smoky flavors, providing a unique dining experience beyond your regular restaurant visit.
American DIY Grill and Pizza Restaurants
American dining has embraced the do-it-yourself model with its vast array of DIY grill and pizza restaurants. These eateries offer a unique and interactive dining experience that caters to individual tastes and adds a fun, hands-on aspect to your meal.
Establishments like The Grill on the Alley in Chicago are making their mark in grilling. This grill-your-own restaurant takes the steakhouse experience up a notch by letting customers cook their steaks to their liking on communal grills. It is not just dining; it’s an event that combines a backyard BBQ atmosphere with a high-end restaurant’s quality ingredients.
For DIY pizza, several chains have become incredibly popular in recent years, including Blaze Pizza and MOD Pizza. In these restaurants, customers play ‘pizza chef,’ selecting their crust, sauce, cheese, and many toppings. After their creation is assembled, it’s rapidly fired in a super-hot oven and ready to enjoy in just minutes.
Pieology is another player in the build-your-own pizza game, providing a similar experience with a wide variety of fresh ingredients and a promise of a hot, custom pizza in under five minutes.
The growth of DIY grill and pizza restaurants across the U.S. reflects a more significant trend toward personalization and interaction in dining. These venues offer a meal and an engaging and customized experience where you’re not just a diner but also part of the culinary process.
Other Unique DIY Cooking Restaurant Concepts
Beyond the familiar styles of DIY dining like Korean BBQ, Fondue, or Build-Your-Own Pizza, plenty of innovative and unique restaurant concepts are emerging across the United States.
DIY Sushi restaurants are making waves in cities like New York and Los Angeles. Places like Sushi By Bou allow guests to roll their sushi with expert guidance, offering a hands-on experience of this Japanese culinary art.
Raclette, a Swiss dish based on heating cheese and scraping off the melted part, has inspired restaurants like Raclette NYC. Guests can experience the joy of melting and scraping their cheese onto various dishes, making each bite a personalized delight.
Some establishments, like The Flatiron Room in New York City, offer DIY whiskey blending classes where guests can create their whiskey blend to take home. That offers a unique blend of dining and mixology that appeals to the aspiring home bartender.
Meanwhile, DIY dessert bars are on the rise in cities like San Francisco. At places like Chocolate Lab, guests can make their chocolate truffles and bars under the guidance of expert chocolatiers.
These unique DIY restaurant concepts offer a meal and an experience, making dining out more interactive, personalized, and memorable.
Health and Safety Measures in DIY Cooking Restaurants
In light of recent global health events, DIY cooking restaurants have had to adapt and implement stringent health and safety measures to ensure the well-being of their customers. That is crucial in a dining style involving more interaction and contact with food and cooking utensils.
Here are some of the vital health and safety measures being adopted:
- Hand Hygiene: Hand sanitizing stations are becoming ubiquitous in these restaurants. Customers are encouraged to clean their hands before, during, and after cooking and eating.
- Equipment Cleaning: Restaurants are investing more time and resources into thoroughly cleaning cooking utensils, grills, tables, and other shared surfaces between each use.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Some restaurants provide guests gloves, aprons, and other protective gear as an added safety measure while cooking.
- Social Distancing: Tables are often rearranged or fitted with dividers to ensure a safe distance between parties. Additionally, guest capacity may be limited to avoid overcrowding.
- Staff Training: Restaurant staff are trained in safe food handling practices and updated health and safety guidelines to maintain a safe environment for diners.
- Contactless Payment: Many restaurants encourage contactless payment methods to limit physical contact between staff and customers.
- Health Checks: Some restaurants perform temperature checks upon entry and require customers to declare their health status.
While these measures may slightly alter the DIY dining experience, they are necessary to ensure that everyone can continue to enjoy these unique, interactive meals in a safe and secure environment.
Conclusion
Restaurants where you cook your own food, provide an extraordinary dining experience that fuses delicious cuisine with engaging, hands-on interaction. These establishments cater to diverse palates and preferences, from American-style grills and pizzas to international flavors like Korean BBQ, Japanese Shabu-Shabu, and Swiss Raclette.
Recent innovations have expanded this model to include DIY Sushi, whiskey blending, and dessert-making, demonstrating that this trend is thriving and evolving in the U.S. dining scene.
Despite the added challenges brought about by global health events, these restaurants have swiftly adapted by implementing stringent health and safety measures, ensuring their guests can enjoy this unique dining experience safely and comfortably. The future of DIY dining looks promising, and for adventurous food lovers, it represents an exciting culinary journey filled with exploration, personalization, and, most importantly, delicious food.
Restaurants Where You Cook Your Own Food | DIY Concepts
Imagine dining out but with a twist. Instead of sitting back and waiting for your order to be served, you take the reins in cooking your food right at your table. While not entirely new, this concept has gained substantial traction in the United States over the years. The appeal lies not only in the culinary experience but also in the unique interactions and the unmatched freshness of seeing your food cooked right before your eyes. In this blog post, we explore a variety of restaurants across the U.S. where you cook your food. From tantalizing Korean BBQ and Japanese Shabu-Shabu to mouth-watering Fondue and Churrascaria, you’re about to embark on a culinary adventure that puts you in the chef’s seat.
Korean BBQ Restaurants
Korean BBQ restaurants are the most recognized places when discussing cook-your-own-food experiences. The essence of a Korean BBQ meal is the gathering around a grill embedded in the center of the table, sizzling with a variety of marinated meats like bulgogi (thinly sliced, marinated beef) and samgyeopsal (pork belly) and a plethora of side dishes known as ‘banchan.’
One of the top Korean BBQ restaurants in the U.S. is Kang Ho-dong Baekjeong, located in New York, Los Angeles, and many other major cities. Known for its lively atmosphere and high-quality meats, this restaurant gives you a full hands-on experience.
Another must-visit Korean BBQ spot is Gen Korean BBQ House, a chain located mainly in California and Texas. Their all-you-can-eat model lets you try a wide range of meats, from the classic bulgogi to more adventurous options like a spicy baby octopus.
In the heart of Chicago, you’ll find San Soo Korean BBQ, offering a blend of traditional Korean recipes and premium quality meats that you grill at your table. It’s a hotspot for food lovers who enjoy the vibrant, interactive DIY dining scene.
These restaurants offer an authentic Korean BBQ experience right in the U.S., allowing patrons to enjoy the flavorful delicacies and engage in the exciting process of cooking their own meals.
Japanese Teppanyaki and Shabu-Shabu Restaurants
Japanese cuisine brings two fun-filled, cook-it-yourself concepts to the table – Teppanyaki and Shabu-Shabu.
Teppanyaki refers to the style of cooking where ingredients are grilled on a large iron griddle right before your eyes. Benihana, a chain spread across the U.S., is among the most popular Teppanyaki restaurants. There, chefs cook your food perfectly and perform various tricks with their knives and spatulas, turning your meal into an entertaining show.
On the other hand, Shabu-Shabu is a Japanese hotpot dish where diners cook their own thinly sliced meat and vegetables in a pot of boiling broth. At Shabu & Mein in Cambridge, Massachusetts, you can enjoy this unique, hands-on dining experience. You select from various ingredients, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, and fresh vegetables, and cook them to your liking in the broth of your choice.
In the heart of New York City, you will find 99 Favor Taste, a Shabu-Shabu restaurant known for its all-you-can-eat menu. You can cook various meats, seafood, and vegetables at your own pace and finish the meal with some hot pot-style dessert.
These Japanese dining experiences let you enjoy the end product and the process of preparing your meal, offering a unique insight into Japanese culinary culture right at your table.
Fondue Restaurants
Originally from Switzerland, fondue is a delightful and interactive dining experience that involves dipping food into a melted cheese or chocolate pot. This communal dish is perfect for date nights, family dinners, or friend gatherings.
A popular chain of fondue restaurants across the U.S. is The Melting Pot. They offer various fondue options, including traditional Swiss cheese, bourguignon, where you cook meat and vegetables in hot oil, and chocolate fondues for dessert. Each course is a DIY experience that encourages interaction and conversation.
Another must-visit fondue restaurant is Geja’s Cafe in Chicago, Illinois. Geja’s Cafe is a romantic fondue dining spot with an extensive menu featuring cheese, chocolate fondue, and a ‘Premiere Fondue Dinner’ with shrimp, beef, and chicken for you to cook at your table.
In San Francisco, California, you’ll find Fondue Cowboy, a unique, Western-themed fondue restaurant. They offer a range of cheese fondues, including the ‘Outlaw,’ their take on the traditional Swiss fondue, and the ‘Brokeback,’ a blend of three kinds of cheese with beer and bourbon.
These fondue restaurants bring a fun and interactive dimension to dining, allowing you to dive into the flavorful world of fondue.
Mongolian BBQ and Hot Pot Restaurants
Mongolian BBQ and Hot Pot restaurants are another fantastic segment of DIY cooking that offers a blend of excitement, interaction, and gastronomic delight.
Mongolian BBQ, despite its name, is neither Mongolian nor barbecue. It’s a style of stir-frying assorted meats, vegetables, and sauces on a large, circular griddle. Genghis Grill, a chain with locations all over the U.S., lets diners choose from a buffet of raw ingredients and hand over their selections to a chef who cooks them right in front of them.
Another popular Mongolian BBQ spot is Khan’s Mongolian Grill in Richfield, Minnesota. Their “Fill it up, Pile it high” motto encourages guests to load their bowls with various meats, noodles, vegetables, and sauces, which the chefs then flash-fry on a large, circular griddle.
On the other hand, Hot Pot (also known as Steamboat) is an East Asian variety of stew where you cook your chosen ingredients in a simmering pot of soup stock at the center of the dining table. Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, a global chain with multiple locations in the U.S., is a popular destination for Hot Pot enthusiasts. It offers a variety of broth flavors, including its signature ‘Original White’ and ‘Spicy Red Soup,’ along with a wide array of meat, seafood, vegetables, and noodles for you to cook.
Whether it’s the high-energy cooking of Mongolian BBQ or the slow, communal dining experience of Hot Pot, these DIY restaurants allow you to cook and enjoy food at your own pace while exploring diverse flavors.
Brazilian Churrascaria Restaurants
Brazilian Churrascaria (Barbecue) restaurants offer a unique and interactive dining experience known as ‘rodízio.’ This all-you-can-eat restaurant service lets you enjoy various cuts of grilled meats, brought to your table and carved right on your plate by ‘gauchos’ or ‘passados’ (meat waiters). Although you don’t technically cook the meat yourself, it’s still an immersive and interactive dining experience where you control the pace and quantity of your meal.
Fogo de Chão is one of the most renowned Brazilian Churrascaria chains in the U.S., Offering a wide array of expertly grilled meats and a gourmet market table featuring salads, fresh vegetables, and side dishes. It’s a carnivore’s paradise.
Texas de Brazil, another popular Churrascaria chain, blends the flavors of Brazil with the generous spirit of Texas. Their rodízio style dining lets you sample an array of slow-roasted meats, seasoned to perfection and carved at your table.
Chama Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse, located in Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, and Atlanta, is another noteworthy spot. It offers a variety of sumptuous flame-grilled meats, a salad bar, and traditional Brazilian sides.
These Brazilian Churrascaria restaurants let you indulge in Brazil’s rich, smoky flavors, providing a unique dining experience beyond your regular restaurant visit.
American DIY Grill and Pizza Restaurants
American dining has embraced the do-it-yourself model with its vast array of DIY grill and pizza restaurants. These eateries offer a unique and interactive dining experience that caters to individual tastes and adds a fun, hands-on aspect to your meal.
Establishments like The Grill on the Alley in Chicago are making their mark in grilling. This grill-your-own restaurant takes the steakhouse experience up a notch by letting customers cook their steaks to their liking on communal grills. It is not just dining; it’s an event that combines a backyard BBQ atmosphere with a high-end restaurant’s quality ingredients.
For DIY pizza, several chains have become incredibly popular in recent years, including Blaze Pizza and MOD Pizza. In these restaurants, customers play ‘pizza chef,’ selecting their crust, sauce, cheese, and many toppings. After their creation is assembled, it’s rapidly fired in a super-hot oven and ready to enjoy in just minutes.
Pieology is another player in the build-your-own pizza game, providing a similar experience with a wide variety of fresh ingredients and a promise of a hot, custom pizza in under five minutes.
The growth of DIY grill and pizza restaurants across the U.S. reflects a more significant trend toward personalization and interaction in dining. These venues offer a meal and an engaging and customized experience where you’re not just a diner but also part of the culinary process.
Other Unique DIY Cooking Restaurant Concepts
Beyond the familiar styles of DIY dining like Korean BBQ, Fondue, or Build-Your-Own Pizza, plenty of innovative and unique restaurant concepts are emerging across the United States.
DIY Sushi restaurants are making waves in cities like New York and Los Angeles. Places like Sushi By Bou allow guests to roll their sushi with expert guidance, offering a hands-on experience of this Japanese culinary art.
Raclette, a Swiss dish based on heating cheese and scraping off the melted part, has inspired restaurants like Raclette NYC. Guests can experience the joy of melting and scraping their cheese onto various dishes, making each bite a personalized delight.
Some establishments, like The Flatiron Room in New York City, offer DIY whiskey blending classes where guests can create their whiskey blend to take home. That offers a unique blend of dining and mixology that appeals to the aspiring home bartender.
Meanwhile, DIY dessert bars are on the rise in cities like San Francisco. At places like Chocolate Lab, guests can make their chocolate truffles and bars under the guidance of expert chocolatiers.
These unique DIY restaurant concepts offer a meal and an experience, making dining out more interactive, personalized, and memorable.
Health and Safety Measures in DIY Cooking Restaurants
In light of recent global health events, DIY cooking restaurants have had to adapt and implement stringent health and safety measures to ensure the well-being of their customers. That is crucial in a dining style involving more interaction and contact with food and cooking utensils.
Here are some of the vital health and safety measures being adopted:
- Hand Hygiene: Hand sanitizing stations are becoming ubiquitous in these restaurants. Customers are encouraged to clean their hands before, during, and after cooking and eating.
- Equipment Cleaning: Restaurants are investing more time and resources into thoroughly cleaning cooking utensils, grills, tables, and other shared surfaces between each use.
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Some restaurants provide guests gloves, aprons, and other protective gear as an added safety measure while cooking.
- Social Distancing: Tables are often rearranged or fitted with dividers to ensure a safe distance between parties. Additionally, guest capacity may be limited to avoid overcrowding.
- Staff Training: Restaurant staff are trained in safe food handling practices and updated health and safety guidelines to maintain a safe environment for diners.
- Contactless Payment: Many restaurants encourage contactless payment methods to limit physical contact between staff and customers.
- Health Checks: Some restaurants perform temperature checks upon entry and require customers to declare their health status.
While these measures may slightly alter the DIY dining experience, they are necessary to ensure that everyone can continue to enjoy these unique, interactive meals in a safe and secure environment.
Conclusion
Restaurants where you cook your own food, provide an extraordinary dining experience that fuses delicious cuisine with engaging, hands-on interaction. These establishments cater to diverse palates and preferences, from American-style grills and pizzas to international flavors like Korean BBQ, Japanese Shabu-Shabu, and Swiss Raclette.
Recent innovations have expanded this model to include DIY Sushi, whiskey blending, and dessert-making, demonstrating that this trend is thriving and evolving in the U.S. dining scene.
Despite the added challenges brought about by global health events, these restaurants have swiftly adapted by implementing stringent health and safety measures, ensuring their guests can enjoy this unique dining experience safely and comfortably. The future of DIY dining looks promising, and for adventurous food lovers, it represents an exciting culinary journey filled with exploration, personalization, and, most importantly, delicious food.